7 October 2014

BUDAPEST

In June I visited Budapest for the first time as some friends got married. The main focus of the weekend was obviously the wedding so we didn't have long to explore the city this time, but we jumped on a boat sailing down the beautiful blue Danube, which was a great way to see some of the impressive buildings on both sides of the river, like the almighty Hungarian Parliament Building (the largest building in Hungary) and the 13th century Buda Castle on the other side.

We had dinner and drinks at the fabulous Holdudvar, an outdoor bar only open in summer on Margaret Island, went to a small, pretty city called Szekesfehervar to the southwest of the capital, where the bride is from, for the wedding reception.

We visited the beautiful St Stephen's Basilica, joint with the Parliament Building as the tallest in Budapest, with its gilt gold dome roof, stone statues, stained glass windows and ornate mosaic artwork. It was completed in 1905 after 50 years of construction, named in honour of the first king of Hungary, and makes all other ceilings look dull.

glittering mosaics in the basilica

We stayed at Hotel Parlament, an elegant four star awarded TripAdvisor's Travelers' Choice® 2014 Winner right in the middle of the city, a few minutes away from the Houses of Parliament and the famous blue Danube.

view from the Hotel Parlament balcony

The hotel was renovated in January so the design is fresh and contemporary and the whole property is pristine clean. Our room was spacious, simple and white, with a balcony overlooking a couple of pretty streets and we started each day with their excellent buffet breakfast in the bright, airy dining room and went on our way. I'd recommend if you're looking for a place to stay.

the breakfast room

the Hotel Parlament lounge

The city is beautiful, everything's cheap and the weather was glorious - we just weren't there long enough! We'll be back soon to visit some thermal baths, the fisherman's bastion, have a couple of spa treatments and hit up the Christmas markets.